Seeing the trailer for Live Free or Die Hard has made me realize how much I have missed this kind of 'One man against a horde of bad guys movies'. Back in the early 90's, it seemed like we had one of those coming out almost every weekend, but nowadays they mostly come out directly on DVD and star either Steven Seagal or Jean Claude VanDamme looking bored, or a completely unknown actor who is only trying to imitate Bruce Willis in his legendary role. If you want to prepare yourself for Live Free or Die Hard and have seen the other three Die Hard movies already too often, than you can do a lot worse than watching any of these five flicks.
Die Hard on a bus: Speed
Speed is probably the best of all the Die Hard clones out there. Heck, it's probably even better than Die Hard 2 and 3! It stars Keanu Reeves (admittedly no match for John McClane) as he tries to save the passengers of a bus that will explode if it drives slower than 50 MPH, which is kinda hard if you imagine the fact that its rush hour. The tension was almost unbearable, and Jan De Bont turned out to be a brilliant manipulator of his audience, as things kept happening that made the predicament even worse. This movie was more or less the breakthrough for both Reeves and Sandra Bullock, and was almost ruined by an inferior sequel.
Die Hard on a boat: Under Siege
When this movie was released, Steven Seagal was one of the biggest action stars out there. Yeah, it's really that long ago. He starred as Casey Ryback, chef cook on board a battleship, who is the only man who can stop a group of bad guys from taking over the ship and using it in a terrorist act. When they hear they are up against the ship's cook, they laugh, until baddies start falling left and right and it turns out the cook in question is really an ex Navy-SEAL. Probably the best thing Seagal ever made, followed by an inferior Die Hard on a train sequel.
Die Hard on a plane: Passenger 57
This seemed to be the perfect place to put a Die Hard clone, and Passenger 57 is one of the most intense versions of this scenario there are. Wesley Snipes is up against a group of terrorists who have bad intentions with the plane, but luckily both he and stewardess Halle Berry are on hand to stop the bad guys and drop one liners left and right.
Die Hard in a hockey stadium: Sudden Death
I'll admit that this isn't the best of the Die Hard clones, but it's great fun nonetheless. Jean Claude VanDamme is a disgraced former fire fighter who now works as a security guard in a hockey stadium, and turns out to be the best man on hand when the vice president attends a game and a group of terrorists threaten to blow up the whole stadium if their demands are not met. Good, dumb fun.
Die Hard on a plane full of dangerous convicts: Con Air
This was probably the last big Die Hard clone in cinemas, and it's what movie critics would like to dub 'a rollicking good ride'. Nicholas Cage stars as a man who is accidentally kills somebody and is thrown in jail. After a few years he is released, but he will fly home on a plane full of some of the most dangerous convicts in the world. And before you can say "This has to go wrong", it does. The convicts take over the plane and it's up to Cage's character, who despite the bad hair and horrible accent, is still very believable as someone who can kick a lot of ass.
Read more: Live Free or Die Hard
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